The police have publicly refused to evict Occupy Dunedin protestors from the Octagon, saying that the trespass notices did not meet "the test of balancing the rights and freedoms of all parties". Good. As Andrew Geddis noted on Sunday, the protestors have rights under the Bill of Rights Act which need to be respected. Dunedin City Council has not given any good reason for limiting those rights, and the fact they can't even convince the police (who are not exactly friendly to protestors) speaks volumes.
Dunedin Mayor Dave Cull is now talking about using private security guards for the eviction. If he goes ahead with that threat, he would be exposing Dunedin ratepayers to significant liability from the ensuing BORA cases. If you live in Dunedin, you might want to let him know that this is not how you want to see your rates money spent.
